Nation in Focus

January 29, 2013

John Moore/Getty Images

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Children participate in a U.S. citizenship ceremony at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), district office on January 29, 2013 in New York City. Some 118,000 immigrants applied for U.S. citizenship and 2,500 children received citizenship certificates in the New York City dictrict in 2012. Although underage children of naturalized immigrants usually receive U.S. citizenship, they must go through a process at the USCIS in order to receive legal certificates. Children born in the United States are American, regardless of the immigrant status of their parents.

John Moore/Getty Images

4of12

Children participate in a U.S. citizenship ceremony at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), district office on January 29, 2013 in New York City. Some 118,000 immigrants applied for U.S. citizenship and 2,500 children received citizenship certificates in the New York City dictrict in 2012. Although underage children of naturalized immigrants usually receive U.S. citizenship, they must go through a process at the USCIS in order to receive legal certificates. Children born in the United States are American, regardless of the immigrant status of their parents.